White: Peace & Snow
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day eighty-five: COLORS #1 Emma helps Quinn across the icy paths of McKinley High.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third and fourth cycle. Now here comes cycle 5!_

_Found this list I had a while back, of colors and connotations, and I decided to make a series around it! So...  
**Colors of Glee: 1 of 12:** White: Peace & Snow_

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**"White: Peace & Snow"  
Emma & Quinn**

There was just something about snow… Maybe it was that it made everything so clean-looking… more than that though, it was just beauty… magic. It made her so excited, she could hardly keep it together, she just wanted to run and play all day. She could even endure the cold, if it meant she could have her snow.

What she could not bear though was the ice. The McKinley High grounds were notorious for their ice patches, making reaching the doors without falling a true achievement. Eventually the ice would be dealt with, but there was always at least one day, once the ice had come to be, where everyone had to brace him or herself and make the slow walk across.

That morning, the paths were spotted with the long patches of ice. A cry would be heard now and then, as someone fell, or barely missed a fall. As Emma came from the parking lot, she spotted Quinn, standing just off the path, assessing how she could make the crossing without falling. With the baby in her belly, the prospect of a fall meant danger for more than just herself. Understanding this, Emma went up to her.

"Quinn," she called to her. "Good morning," she greeted her once she turned. She looked relieved, even before Emma asked, "Need a hand?" She gave a thankful nod.

"I've been standing here for fifteen minutes," she admitted, then after a beat, "It's really cold this morning." They shared a quick laugh at that.

"Come on," Emma held her hand out to Quinn, angling back toward the path. She looked to the ice apprehensively before taking the offered hand. They were careful to keep an eye on the ground, watching out for the ice. "Don't be afraid to grip tighter if you need to, okay?" Emma assured Quinn.

"Right," she nodded. A few steps later, she took her up on the offer, feeling her foot glide before she steadied again. It had made her heart race for an instant.

"My mother always said the trick was to keep your mind at ease as you went. No good will come from going the whole way thinking 'oh my god, I'm going to fall.'" Quinn smiled.

"Right," she nodded, and Emma nodded back. She looked up for a moment, trying to find something to talk about, to keep their minds at ease. In the end, it was Quinn who got the conversation going. "It'd be so much better if it was just snow everywhere, no ice… Snow's good," she nodded as they side-stepped a small patch.

"Oh, it's the best," Emma affirmed.

"When I was little, I could just make snow angels all day. Our backyard would be covered in them. My father would say 'Look, it's the field of angels!'" she imitated her father's tone. It made Emma laugh. Quinn smiled back, though the memory, and the fact that those days were gone, for several reasons, made it difficult for her to hang on to it. Emma saw this.

"You miss it," she simply commented. Quinn looked back at her for a second, looking back to the ground to watch out for ice a moment later.

"A lot of the time, I can just… forget about it, like… it's just something that happened, and now it's in the past." She paused. "And then I think about the field of angels… I think about cooking with my mother, being in my room, and a million other things I lost… and then I miss it... and then I go on with my day…" She looked down, more so than for the ice. Emma let the silence hang for a few beats more, allowing her the time she needed to reset her mind after the memory had taken her.

"When I see all that… untouched snow, I get a little crazy," she spoke as they continued to walk. It wrestled a new smile out of Quinn. "I don't know whether to run through it, try to write in it, or maybe make a snowball," she had her turn of almost falling, and Quinn helped to steady her again. "Thank you," Emma breathed out. "My legs are just going to keep shaking now…"

"Me too," Quinn chuckled.

"I might just make a snowman later," she nodded confidently. Quinn went on chuckling at this, seeing how giddy the snow was making the guidance counsellor. "We're almost there," she announced, and Quinn looked up to see. Once more, her feet trembled and slipped along the ice, coming very close to a fall, which was prevented by having Emma there. They were dead quiet and still for a moment, needing to make sure they were on steady ground once more.

"Okay, my mind's definitely not at ease right now," Quinn's voice quivered.

"Right, let's see," Emma nodded, the two of them starting to walk once more. "Okay," she nodded with more strength as she got an idea. "This might sound silly…" she started.

"It might be best if it did," Quinn suggested with a stilted laugh.

"Right," Emma agreed. "Sometimes in the summer, I would start missing the snow. This was when I was a little girl, again." Quinn nodded. "Well, when I did, and we'd be doing laundry, we had the powder detergent… my mother would give me the scoop, and I would sprinkle out the powder into the washing machine, like snowflakes," she punctuated the story by miming the act with her free hand.

It kept Quinn right where she needed to be, mentally. The amusement carried her all the way through the last stretch of road, and soon they had 'landed.' Satisfied, Emma nodded and let out a breath.

"That wasn't as bad as it seemed, was it?" she asked as they let go of one another.

"My legs are still shaking," Quinn admitted.

"So are mine," Emma nodded.

"Thank you," Quinn gave her a smile. Emma smiled back.

"Sure! You know, if you need me to walk you back this afternoon…"

"I might take you up on that," Quinn nodded thankfully. There was certainly something to be said for companionship in momentary panic.

THE END


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